


Five Times Rhodey Heard About Tony's Kid

by Confuse_the_Queer



Series: Web of Vines [2]
Category: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: And Rhodey knows it, Even before he meets the kid, F/M, Gen, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark Friendship, James "Rhodey" Rhodes is a Good Bro, POV James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Precious Peter Parker, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony is practically Peters dad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-24
Updated: 2019-05-24
Packaged: 2020-03-14 15:48:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18951187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Confuse_the_Queer/pseuds/Confuse_the_Queer
Summary: And the One Time They Met~Rhodey keeps hearing about Tony's kid whenever he visits the tower. Rhodey only has one problem with this, Tony doesn't have a kid.Does he?





	Five Times Rhodey Heard About Tony's Kid

**Author's Note:**

> This took a damn long time, cause three-fourths of the way through writer's block hit like a truck.
> 
> Props to my wonderful discord wife for getting me out of it and beta-reading this for me. Love you Dar!
> 
> Enjoy!!

**1 - From Pepper**

 

The first time Rhodey heard that Tony had a kid, he didn't quite believe it. Tony had come into the living room of the tower after being out and collapsed onto the couch, mumbling something.

“I can't understand you, Tones,” Rhodey said, not looking up from his book, “You'll have to spit out the pillow.”

“I said,” Tony lifted his head, “That I'd like to fight whoever invented this ‘dad’ thing.”

Rhodey raised an eyebrow, finally looking up at his best friend, “Why? You're not a dad?”

“I feel like one, ” Tony complained, dropping his head back down onto the pillow, grumbling to himself about teenagers.

Rhodey blinked down at him in surprise and confusion, having had assumed Tony was talking about the bots. Yes, Tony referred to them as his children but he had never reacted to anything they did like this.

Pepper walked in at that moment and Rhodey turned his confused look to her, hoping she had some answers for him. She saw Tony lying face-down on the couch and chuckled before walking over to sit beside his head.

"What did Peter do this time?" she asked, beginning to run her hand through Tony's hair, and Rhodey got even more confused when Tony groaned exasperatedly.

"He's too noble and selfless for his own damn good," Tony growled, "I found out today he's been picked on since junior high, but not because he told me! No! I had to find out from Leeds because he called when he found Peter curled up on the bathroom floor from three broken ribs. Three, Pep!"

Tony sighed and turned over, moving so his head was on Pepper's lap, "Why doesn't he fight back? He could kick the guy's ass to Timbuktu but he still lets himself get  _ hurt _ ."

Just then, Friday came over the speakers, startling Rhodey into the looking up, "Boss, Peter is awake and requesting your presence in the medbay."

Before Rhodey has time to even process what was said, Tony was up and halfway to the elevator, telling Friday to "let the kid know I'm on my way".

It took a whole two minutes of shocked silence before Rhodey looked over to Pepper and asked, "Okay… what?"

She only chuckled, standing up and brushing off her skirt, "That was my reaction to hearing about Peter the first time, too. He's Tony's personal intern, a fifteen-year-old from Midtown School of Science and Technology."

Rhodey shook his head, "There are many things I don't understand in that sentence. Tony has an intern? And he's only fifteen?"

Pepper pats his shoulder, "It's something for Tony to explain, not me." She began to walk away, then paused, looking back, "Oh, and I'd stay away for now if I were you. Knowing Peter, he'd freak out and hurt himself again and Tony will be mad at you."

She left and Rhodey stayed where he was, staring at his book but not reading a word, wondering just what kind of kid this intern, this Peter, was to warrant Tony worrying that much.

 

**2 - From Interns**

 

A week later, Rhodey had come back to the tower and was on the intern floor, grilling them about whether or not Tony had been out of the penthouse recently, when he heard a name he recognized.

"I know right! Peter is like, insane when he's down here! He solves problems we've been having for weeks in less than five minutes!" a passing intern said, "Are you  _ sure _ he's not in college?"

Now, Rhodey didn't  _ mean _ to eavesdrop, he just needed to learn more about this Peter kid to make sure he was good for Tony, yeah, that's it.

"I'm sure, I heard it from him, himself! But like, damn you gotta admit the kid's smart as hell," A younger-sounding intern said.

One of the others gasped, "You've actually  _ talked to him _ ?! But how? Mr. Stark never takes him down here and when he does he's shy he doesn't talk unless solving a problem!"

"I quoted a vine!" the first laughed, "I quoted it and he finished it and we started talking, he's really sweet and modest!"

The conversation veered off to work topics, and Rhodey stopped listening, but now he wanted to hear more. So he went wandering to see if anyone else was talking about the kid.

Turns out he's a pretty popular topic of discussion.

Everywhere he wandered on the intern floor he heard people talking about the kid. Little things here and there, like how he helped them finish something or something he had blown up (there was a concerning amount of those.)

But then he heard something that made him stop.

"I heard he works on stuff for Spider-Man!" a female intern said excitedly, and Rhodey froze.

"Yeah, once he came in with some of the guy's web-shooters and he stuttered his way through explaining that he's friends with the guy. You think that's how Mr. Stark met him?"

Rhodey narrowed his eyes and continued walking, his mind now going a mile a minute.

So the kid knows Spider-Man and possibly made his tech. Makes sense, he remembers Tony grumbling about the spider kid hacking into his new suit, and if this Peter kid was half as smart as these people thought he was he would've been able to no problem.

Rhodey shook his head, the kid was like a mini Tony! All this was making him only want to meet him more, but he wanted to wait until Tony introduced him, he didn't want to upset either of them.

And so Rhodey put it out of his head and left the tower.

 

**3 - From Bruce**

 

Rhodey was going to the medbay, getting ready for Bruce to look over him, when he was passed by a flash of brown hair.

"OkaythanksDr.BannerI'lltellMr.Starkbyeeeee!!"

Rhodey looks back at Bruce and raises an eyebrow at him as he walks in. The doctor smiles and waves him over, chuckling to himself about something.

"So, I take it that was this kid I keep hearing about? Peter?" Rhodey asked, sitting down.

Bruce begins to look him over as he replies, "The fact that you're not sure says that Tony hasn't actually talked to you about him yet. Which is surprising, cause Pete is practically all he talks about these days."

"How'd you meet him?" Rhodey asks, genuinely curious.

Bruce hesitated for a second, and Rhodey could tell he was hiding something as he replied, "Peter go hurt one day, I was here so I helped. I technically didn't meet him until he woke up after."

Rhodey decided not to call the good doctor out and went along with it, "And your reaction to him?"

Bruce smiled, relaxing, "The first thing the kid did was start fanboying over me."

"The kid's a fan of the Hulk?"

Bruce shook his head, grin growing, "Not Hulk,  _ me _ . As soon as he comprehended who I am he started talking a mile a minute about reading my research and his own that he based off of it."

Rhodey blinked in surprise, the kid really was smart if he could understand the work of Bruce Banner. He could understand why Tony had taken note of the boy if he were that smart.

"Do you work with him often?" Rhodey was genuinely curious now, it took a lot to make Bruce smile, and this kid had him unabashedly grinning.

"Only when I can sneak him away from Tony, but he isn't over here enough for me to do it often without feeling guilty."

Rhodey nods then, Bruce finally being done with him, walks out of the medbay, resolving to ask Tony about the kid. 

 

**4 - From FRIDAY**

 

"Tony, we have to talk about something," Rhodey said as he strolled into his best friend's private lab.

He had just come from a meeting with Secretary Hill (Ross had been fired not long after the "civil war" happened) to talk about pardoning the Rouges. He was told to come to get Tony's opinions on the matter, and even though he didn't want to bring all back up, he also wanted to know.

Would Tony let them live in the tower? Would they be a "team" ever again?

Rhodey shook his head and looked around the lab. Huh, Tony wasn't there…

"Friday, where is Tony right now? If possible could you ask him to come down here? It's important." Rhodey called out, and within a minute Friday answered.

{ _ I'm sorry Colonel Rhodes, but Boss is otherwise occupied at the moment. _ } Rhodey raises an eyebrow at this.

"Occupied? Occupied with what?"

Instead of answering Friday pulls up a live feed from Tony's lab, and in it, Tony is asleep at his desk. This in itself is normal, and had it been just that Rhodey would've just gone to wake him up.

What's not normal and the only thing that's stopping him from going in there is the head of curls currently sleeping on Tony's shoulder. It seems they had both fallen asleep while working on something or another in the lab, as there were still pencils clutched in their hands.

"Friday, rewind to when they started to fall asleep and play at double speed."

Rhodey watched as who he assumed was Peter, all wide eyes and big smiles, worked with Tony. The two seemed to have a good flow with each other, passing tools back and forth with nothing but a word.

_ He lets the kid hand him things? _

After a while, Peter began to blink slower and yawn a bit. Tony glanced over at the kid but didn't say anything about it. Slowly Peter began to rest his head against Tony's shoulder and, thanks to Rhodey speeding up the footage, in a few seconds he was asleep.

Tony looked down at Peter and smiled softly, brushing a hand over the curls resting on the boy's forehead. It's not long until he's also asleep, slumped over his work with Peter still on his shoulder.

"They're kind of adorable, aren't they Fri?" Rhodey chuckles to himself, looking at the two of them together.

{ _ That they are, Colonel Rhodes. Would you like me to take a picture? _ }

Rhodey thought for a moment then smiled, "Yeah, Fri, I'd like that."

 

**5 - From Tony**

 

Rhodey was once again trying to read his book when his phone started blasting some AC/DC song.

"Yeah Tony?" Rhodey asked, setting his book down on the coffee table by his feet.

"I won't be able to come up to the compound this weekend, the kid is staying over at the tower." Tony skipped straight to the point, and Rhodey raised an eyebrow despite the fact his friend couldn't see him.

"The kid?" he asks, and the telltale sounds of Tony working in the lab as he talks on the phone stops.

"Shit, I never told you about him did I?"

Rhodey chuckles, "No, Tones, you haven't. However, quite a few other people have! I've heard all about how you're a dad now!"

Rhodey can practically  _ hear _ Tony blanch and shake his head, "What? I'm not the kid's dad!"

"Yeah but from what I've heard you sure as hell act like it."

Rhodey hears Tony sigh into the phone and set down his tools, "I'm the kid's mentor, and he's my personal assistant or intern or something."

"Either way I've noticed that ever since I started hearing about the kid you've been taking care of yourself more, you've been happier."

"Yeah, I can't lie about that."

"Which implies that you were lying before," Rhodey smirks, knowing he's backed his friend into a corner.

Tony groans annoyedly, "Yes! Fine! He's practically my son and I love him as such, there, you happy now?"

His smirk softens into a smile, "Yeah, I really am, Peter sounds like he's a good kid. I'm glad you found him, especially after…"

"Yeah," Tony said quietly, neither of them needing him to finish that sentence. They were quiet for a wild, neither of them knowing exactly how to continue the conversation, before Tony spoke up.

"I should really bring you to meet the kid, he's a big fan."

"Oh really?" Rhodey listened with a smile as his best friend rambled on about his kid.

 

**+1 - From Peter**

 

Rhodey wasn't  _ nervous _ per sey, he was just hesitant.

What would the kid say about his legs? What if he doesn't like him? What if he stops coming over to the tower because of it? What if-

Okay, maybe he was a bit nervous.

But, it was perfectly justified. This kid was important to Tony, and Bruce, and he didn't want to ruin anything. Tony had reassured him several times by now but that didn't really help him.

Rhodey was trying to hype himself up as he walked into the lab, but was struck dumb by what he found inside.

Peter was stuck to the ceiling by some sort of white fluid, struggling and squirming while Tony was leaning on the counter, laughing so hard Rhodey wasn't sure he shouldn't be concerned over his health. When Peter noticed that Rhodey had come into the room his expression, which had been set in annoyance, melted into one of pure embarrassment.

"Mr. Colonel James Rhodes sir!!" the kid stuttered out, and Rhodey could feel his heart melting already.

Tony looked over to him and smirked, his laughter finally stopping, "Hey honeybear! The kid had a bit of a… miscalculation. So! We're gonna have to conduct this introduction with him on the ceiling!"

"Mr. Stark!! It's your fault I'm here! If you hadn't distracted me-!"

"Distracted you?? How is asking you how school was going distracting you?"

"You know I can't focus on more than one thing at a time!"

As Rhodey listened to the two argue he smiled to himself. He could see how genuine Tony was with the kid with every action he took, and it usually took a lot to get to that point. He was glad Tony had the kid.

"Don't worry kid, I can come hang out tomorrow," he turned and began walking out, "Don't be too hard on your dad!"

He laughed as he heard Peter stuttering behind him and Tony's indignant squawk of, "He's not my son! Why does everyone automatically assume he's my son?"

And as Rhodey left the tower he wasn't nervous for tomorrow's meeting at all.

**Author's Note:**

> Commenr, kudos, and feel free to yell at me on Tumblr at confusingly-queer
> 
> Hope y'all liked it!!


End file.
